Table.Briefings

Feature

Chinesische Yoginis bei Atemübungen in einem Park von Handan, Provinz Hebei

The market for mindfulness exercises: enlightenment to go

China's wellness industry is booming. After yoga, mindfulness is the latest trend. Mindfulness apps and meditation centers are vying for the Chinese's inner peace. The government hopes spiritual self-help will ease the burden on its poorly developed healthcare system. However, no movement is allowed to become as big as Falun Gong.

By Fabian Peltsch

Steering wheel and rotor: flying cars against jammed streets

The company HT Aero plans to introduce a flying car to the market soon. In other words, a vehicle that is both capable of driving on the road and flight. What sounds like science fiction is now being pushed forward not only in China, but by carmakers worldwide. In China, however, the development pressure is the highest due to overcrowded cities.

By Frank Sieren

Critical raw materials: hope for domestic production

Digitization and the energy transition are leading to a steadily increasing demand for critical raw materials. But the EU is already heavily dependent on imports from individual regions. This is set to change. Today, the Parliament is voting on its position on the raw materials strategy, which focuses in particular on the extraction of Europe's own deposits.

By Timo Landenberger

Wife of ex-Interpol chief Meng raises serious allegations

Meng Hongwei, China's first Interpol chief, was arrested for corruption three years ago. In an interview, his wife now claims that it was actually all about a power struggle: Her husband had been pushing for change. Beijing responded by arresting him.

By Jörn Petring

Central bank chief Yi reveals details on e-yuan

China continues to expand the usage of its digital central bank currency. With the state-owned e-yuan, Beijing wants to curb the financial power of private companies like Alipay. In the long term, it wants to push the internationalization of the yuan. Central bank chief Yi Gang now revealed the first details of these goals.

By Frank Sieren

Grafik

Is China's booming art market meeting a political demise?

In China, art fairs such as the recent one in Shanghai are once again attracting visitors, although due to Covid restrictions they come almost exclusively from within the country. For years, artworks by renowned foreign artists were considered a safe investment by Chinese collectors. But more and more young collectors are now turning to domestic art – and political developments are causing concern in the industry.

By Ning Wang

Belgium's nuclear debate: withdrawal from the phase-out?

Belgium's nuclear phaseout is actually a done deal. But shortly before the government makes its decision, the fronts within the governing coalition harden – especially the Liberals want to stick to nuclear power. The discussion is an example of how intensely the technology is currently being fought over in many countries in Europe.

By Charlotte Wirth

Markus Pieper: 'We can't afford to be know-it-alls'

As rapporteur for the directive on the expansion of renewable energies, Markus Pieper has taken on one of the most important dossiers in the fight against climate change. In an interview with Timo Landenberger, the CDU MEP explains how the expansion can be accelerated, why it won't work without gas and why ideologies have no place in the energy transition.

By Timo Landenberger

Likely no majority for banning personalized advertising

Risks of a shadow market, not in the sense of the General Data Protection Regulation: At a hearing of the IMCO's Digital Single Market working group, experts put forward arguments against personalized advertising. Nevertheless, no majority for a complete ban is emerging in the committee.

By Redaktion Table